Ron Washington (left) and Rudy Jaramillo (right) observe batting practice at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on Thursday, July 16th.With one out, a runner occupying second base and the Texas Rangers trailing by a 4-3 margin in the top of the eighth inning on Friday evening, manager Ron Washington tapped into his bench for a pinch hitter to replace his next-to-bat shortstop.

Four months ago, it would have been Omar Vizquel pinch-hitting for Elvis Andrus. On this night, the surprise substitution was Andrus for Vizquel, with the outcome being a full-count walk that extended the inning just long enough for Michael Young to slash one of his trademark opposite-field singles, plating the tying run with two outs. And just one inning later, Andrus delivered the fatal blow with a two-out, two-run double that guaranteed 87 wins and no less than a second-place finish.

You can read into the symbolic subtext of the Andrus-for-Vizquel swap, or you can leave it there within the confines of the box score and think nothing more of it, but either way it's apparent that Andrus is fast building towards something more significant than many of us ever thought was possible:

● Just one of Ron Washington's six coaches is under contract for 2010 (pitching coach Mike Maddux), but the third-year skipper would like to see his entire coaching staff remain intact going forward (T.R. Sullivan, MLB.com)

[I've been mentally chewing on the Rudy Jaramillo situation for quite some time now, and have arrived at the conclusion that he has probably just about run his course in Texas. There's going to be significant demand for his coaching services, he's probably going to command a bump in pay from his current $600,000 per annum salary, and I just don't know whether the Rangers are positioned to accommodate that. The whole "worst team plate discipline in the league" thing largely falls on the shoulders of the player personnel, but it also falls within the coaching domain of Jaramillo and that doesn't strengthen his case for retention in the slightest.

The rest of the coaching staff isn't quite so fascinating to speculate on, but it's worth noting that first base/outfield coach Gary Pettis figures to play an important role in the shaping of Julio Borbon into a (hopefully) top-flight defensive center fielder, so there might be an additional impetus to keep him employed in his current capacity.]

● According to sources, the Rangers harbor absolutely no interest in re-acquiring Cubs outfielder Milton Bradley (T.R. Sullivan, MLB.com)

[Should this pronouncement be taken as the final word on the matter? Perhaps. In any event, it's the first media report to categorically assert that Texas isn't inclined to take a flier on Milton Bradley, v. 2.0, something which I acknowledged was entirely possible one week ago as the media spectacle began to take on a life of its own. Acquiring an All-Star-level slugger at a majorly discounted price in terms of both salary and talent still makes considerable sense in the abstract, but the human element can't be ignored ... or can it, provided that the player you're acquiring is good enough?]

● According to reports, Kevin Towers, the longest-tenured general manager in baseball, will be dismissed by the Padres on Saturday (ESPN.com)

[Speculation is already building that (a) Paul DePodesta could assume the reins in San Diego and (b) Grady Fuson will be fired or re-assigned within the organization, the latter of which wouldn't come as an enormous surprise. Since Fuson assumed control over the scouting and player development departments at the end of the 2005 season, the Padres have had the immensely good fortune of burning through 11 first-round or supplemental-round draft picks ... and the not-so-good fortune of being identified as the second-worst farm system in baseball at the outset of the 2009 season by industry publication Baseball America.

Roughly one month ago, Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus noted that no new general manager or assistant general manager job vacancies would likely become available yet this year; this observation came on the heels of general manager Jon Daniels suggesting that Rangers assistant general manager Thad Levine would garner strong consideration for a general manager's job in the very near future. If San Diego isn't interested in going with Towers' logical successor in DePodesta, expect Levine -- one of a handful of breakout GM prospects in baseball -- to land on Jeff Moorad's short list of GM candidates.

One more thing worth contemplating: if the Sandy Alderson-led ownership group places the prevailing bid for the Rangers, does Alderson begin poaching executive talent from his old organization at the expense of current Rangers management?]